At Sea
Y.M. Abdel-Magied
Available as Hardback, Paperback, eBook
21 May 2026
A thrilling and emotionally complex novel of impossible choices, gender and power politics, and the machismo of Big Oil - from an award-winning writer
A DUA LIPA’S SERVICE95 ‘MUST READ’ FOR 2026
Being one of the boys was one thing. Being the boss of the boys was something else altogether.
Expert driller Zainab is called to take charge of a high-stakes oil rig operation. Unable to resist the opportunity, she leaves behind her pregnant sister and heads offshore for the job of her life. But there’s a catch. The rig is teetering on the edge of disaster – and Zainab is the only woman amongst a crew of hardened men who want absolutely nothing to do with her.
At the helm but forced to prove herself at every turn, Zainab labours to investigate the rig’s imminent collapse. She quickly grasps that the real danger lies in the cold calculations and base desires of the men she is forced to spend every waking moment with.
As tensions rise and secrets unravel, Zainab races to uncover the truth bubbling below and fend off the looming catastrophe. Explosive and thought-provoking, At Sea is an exhilarating story about the clash of ambition, principle and prejudice, and the unexpected consequences of our choices.
“Zesty, intense and thrilling - a wonderful achievement. This is a jarring exposé of the satisfactions and brutality of the workplace. The joys of career success, the power struggles with colleagues, the humiliations and bruised sense of worth. How ambition can become a trap, and how structure and mental absorption can be an escape from family difficulties”
Leila Aboulela
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“Written with the urgency of a thriller and the distress signal of an allegory, At Sea is a smart, razor-sharp takedown of the machismo of Big Oil and what it is to be a woman operating in such a hostile industry. Abdel-Magied tells this compelling story with a fresh, authoritative voice”
Caoilinn Hughes
“With a kick-ass heroine, and moving between Sudan and Scotland, Australia and a rig on the verge of blowout, At Sea captures the high stakes, drama and the claustrophobia of life off-shore in the service of Big Oil”
Gavin Francis
“A thrilling and emotionally complex ride … A story of gender and power politics, the cost of capitalism and unhealed wounds, this is a masterclass in drawing a reader into worlds unknown and making it consume their every waking thought. Abdel-Magied has written a carefully composed novel that pulls no punches as it deftly explores the painful reality of life on the rig that is both compelling and captivating”
Ore Agbaje-williams
“Propulsive and engrossing and deeply fascinating, Abdel-Magied’s At Sea is a feat of vivid world-building, of characters sketched with such empathy and with a poet’s economy of language. My heart was in my throat the entire time. This story will haunt me forever”
Safia Elhillo
Y.M. Abdel-Magied
Born in Sudan, Y.M. Abdel-Magied’s first job as a teenager was in a coal mine in rural Australia. After graduating with first class honours in Mechanical Engineering, Abdel-Magied trained and worked as a MWD (Measurement While Drilling) contractor and drilling engineer across Europe, Australia, Asia and the US. At Sea is Abdel-Magied’s first adult novel.
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